Growing Pains

My baby's getting old.

No longer this cute gangly puppy, my sweet girl is now considered a senior citizen in the extra large dog range at the ripe old age of eight years old.

One of the hardest things about being a young animal owner is taking care of your pets financially.  I'll admit it's not easy to stomach vet bills while you're trying to work and go to school at the same time.  And you take your dog in to be seen and know they need the care being offered but it's a hard pill to swallow when you hear the bottom line.

As Fynn gets older, that is the other hard thing to watch.  I realize I never had it so good as when she was three - fit and happy, agile and no real issues to speak of.  I think this hits closer to home having just experienced her mama Vida's death.  For a while now I have been looking at Fynn and getting really sad about where she is at with her health and age. She is not as stable anymore on her legs. She will sometimes fall when the floor is slippery.  It's sometimes hard for her to get up into the car on her own and her knee that she injured when she was younger bothers her more.  And like all filas that long to please their owners, even though she knows you're telling her to get up, it is difficult for her to do so and she gets so worried.  It is so hard to watch.

So I took her in today to get some care and come to realize she needs more care which will in turn cost more.  Of course I will give her that care and thanks to student loans I can.  Regardless of that, the blow financially followed by the blow of watching her age was really tough.  And then I heard this song come onto my ipod...

Aside from the lyrics referring to father and the cheesy video, Paul Simon puts it perfectly.  "As long as one and one is two, there could never be a mother who loves her daughter more than I love you."  And snap, it's all in perspective.  As the doctor said, she could live quite a few more years and I want to have her feeling as best she can so she can enjoy those years as much as she can.  And true enough, nothing matters when it comes to her.  I would do anything to care for her... she is just that important to me.  Thanks Paul, for not only making me cry but for the reminder.